


A New 'Rei' of Hope

by bravelove



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: A Few Minor OC, Barian Yuma, Flashbacks, Human Vector, Japanese Orphanages Actually Kinda Suck, Minor Character Death, Protagonist Vector, Rei has not had a happy life, Roleswap, Trauma, Villain Yuma, Yuma is a Barian and Vector is a protagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11002821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bravelove/pseuds/bravelove
Summary: An orphan named Rei treasures a necklace given to him by his deceased mother above all else, with seemingly no friends, this loner keeps to himself. With the trauma of both of his parents hanging over his head and jerks called Shark, he discovers there's more to his necklace then it seems. He just may rediscover the good in him, and maybe save the world while he's at it.





	1. The Shattering

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my Yuma Vector Role-swap, beware mild swearing and creative liberties with a few decks and enjoy.

Rei stared at the strange door, stance tense as he evaluated the door that always appeared in his dreams. Not reacting as it said the same thing it said every night “He who opens this door shall obtain a new power. However, as a price for the power, you shall lose that which is most important to you.” 

 

As always Rei’s prized necklace glowed, and he grabbed it, digesting the words, silent before he spoke. “You always promise me a power, but you never say what it is! As tempting as it is, I'm not that stupid yet! Fuck off!” He turned around to leave, the floor breaking as he took the first step. He let out a shriek, forgetting it was a dream as he plummeted, eyes snapping open as he landed on the floor by his bed with a grunt of pain.

 

He quickly scanned the area, it seemed everyone had left for school, with a cuss under his breath, he quickly changed, throwing his supplies into his old bag, he threw in his deck and D-Gazer as well, never know when some punk might try to challenge him, and he never backed down from a challenge. Soon, he was dressed and running out the door, hoping he wouldn’t get detention again. If he got too many more, he could get suspended and then he would probably lose every privilege he earned, might even be forced to get a job. With a shudder at the thought he ran faster, eyes darting to the side as he saw Tetsuo skateboarding nearby, just what he needed.

 

“Oy Vector! Looks like you’re gonna be late again huh? How about a challenge, I bet I can get there before you!” Tetsuo called over to Rei who rolled his eyes, before suddenly lunging to the left, knocking Tetsuo off his skateboard before Tetsuo could react, he quickly jumped onto the skateboard, ignoring the injured Tetsuo on the stairs, and began skateboarding off, this was just what he needed to get there on time, Tetsuo truly was a useful moron at times. 

 

Ignoring the screams of rage behind him as Tetsuo gave chase, Rei simply yelled back “Challenge accepted!” cackling as he picked up speed and kicked the trash bot in Tetsuo's way, the thought to take one of his infamous shortcuts and still get there before Tetsuo was tempting but decided it wouldn't be worth the detention and humiliation if the dogs caught him, so he took the quickest, shortcut free, way to school, arriving in time. He left the board outside, it was no longer his problem, maybe Tetsuo would even get lucky and no one would steal it. He slipped into class and got out his paper, doodling as he waited for class to start. Not that it really mattered, he'd just continue doodling and maybe do some scheming when the bell rang anyway, just more secretly.

 

After his first boring class, it was time for P.E. he stared at the tower of hurdles Tetsuo was building while grumbling, he turned to go do something else but stopped when he heard Tetsuo call out to him again. “Vector! There you are-”  Rei turned around and gave him a bored look, noting that he had somehow managed to stack twenty hurdles. “-You stole my skateboard this morning, you totally cheated in the challenge as well! Don’t you think you should have some sort of punishment?”

 

Rei sized up the hurdles, “Not really! You never specified any rules to the challenge after all, don’t be a sore loser, Tetsuck!” he snickered at the childish insult and Tetsuo glared.

“My name’s Tetsuo! Just take your dang punishment! I bet you can't get over these hurdles anyway! It’s past the school record!”

 

Rei grinned “Alright, I can pass this challenge with ease!” He sized up the hurdles once again, before giving a small nod of his head, he ran towards it and jumped, he knew that he couldn’t jump over it, but he didn’t need to jump, he needed to get over it, so he aimed a bit to the left, jumping aside it and grabbing on to the stack. As everyone stared, Rei quickly climbed to the top, sitting on it. 

 

He smirked at the flabbergasted Tetsuo who quickly recovered, “Hey you cheated again! You weren’t supposed to climb over them!”

 

Rei simply stuck his tongue out playfully and jumped off, shoving the stack as he did, causing it to topple over on top of Tetsuo, who was only barely able to dodge out of the way but landed on his side. Rei gracefully landed on his feet and sauntered over to Tetsuo, “Well Tetsuck, how you doing down there on the ground, gonna kiss my feet?? Oh, that’d be fun!” He started laughing a bit “Kiss my foot Tetsuck! Grovel beneath your superior!!” Rei started laughing harder, clutching his stomach as Tetsuo got up and stomped away. “Challenge me again and you’ll regret it even more, you won't be able to dodge what I do to you next time!” 

 

Rei sauntered away, ignoring the girl he sat next to in class. Kotori, he thought was her name, who was yelling at him to be nicer. Smug grin and laughter died away as he subconsciously touched his necklace, a soothing gesture he did on instinct. He took a deep breath as he stared back at the people staring at him and waited for the bell. Changing into his swimsuit, he ignored the few stares at his scars, he was used to those. He boredly loitered around the pool, Tetsuo looked like he was going to challenge him again, but a withering glare sent him away. All in all, it was a very uneventful period.

 

Soon, it was the last period before free time and the girl was quietly trying to scold him. 

“You really need to be nicer Rei, Tetsuo may not be the most pleasant of individuals but you don’t have the right to threaten him! Just ignore him and his challenges, before you get in trouble.  _ Again _ .”

 

Rei rolled his eyes and hissed back, “Vector, call me Vector. Everyone else does, I prefer being Vector.” 

 

He ignored the pouting Kotori who was trying to tell him something but was now being tuned out. He touched his key again as he thought about his dead parents, how his dad always told him a worthless man doesn’t give those lesser to him the time of day, and how a worthwhile man would rise above them and make them rue trying to force them to give him time. He was about to snap at Kotori when he remembered his mom’s words, about how a good person gives everyone at least some kindness, and cares for people even if they don’t like them.

 

He bit back his words as he remembered his mom, she was always better then his dad anyways. His eyes widened a bit as he was suddenly struck with fear, eyes widening a bit as he was suddenly struck by flashbacks, the memory of how his dad lunged at him with a sword, how his mom got in the way, the blood, blood everywhere. He could faintly hear someone scream and before he knew it he was bolting, running, he faintly noticed he collapsed on a wall as he did deep breath, clutching his necklace as tight as he could. He almost cried as he remembered his mom die, but he just breathed, eventually he blinked and took in his surroundings, jumping a bit as the bell rang.

 

He took another deep breath, collecting himself, stupid flashbacks. He walked into class and grabbed his stuff, no one had even gone looking for him, typical, he paused as he heard someone run over to him, he quickly spun around, on guard and saw Kotori. “There you are! I went looking for you but I couldn’t find you! Is everything alright??”

 

She seemed genuinely worried, an awkward silence came as he just stared at her, not sure how to react to someone being actually worried about him, eventually he managed to get out a simple “I’m fine, its free time, I should go.”

 

With a smile she replied, “I’ll go with you, I don’t think you should be alone after what just happened, Rei. Why are you clutching your necklace like that, anyways?” 

 

Rei quickly let go of his necklace and snapped out “None of your business!” Luckily, she seemed to take that answer and they both silently walked out to the courtyard, looking over the duelists. Rei slipped on his cheap duel gazer, he had saved up for months and it was good quality, but a bit clunky and big, which is how he got it so cheaply. He looked over the duels with mild interest, wondering if anything interesting would happen, he flinched a bit as a monster suddenly came barrelling at him but he quickly regained his composure, Kotori, who had ducked and covered her head soon followed. 

 

Soon they were walking around, nothing interesting seemed to be happening as they walked in silence, before Kotori suddenly spoke, “Rei, over there!” She pointed to a duel, and Rei looked over and saw Tetsuo, eh. But, his eyes widened a bit as he saw who he was dueling, Shark. He felt his eyes narrow as he touched his necklace again to avoid flying into a rage. The two of them ran over to the duel, he grit his teeth as he began ignoring Kotori again, starting to get more angry as he watched Shark XYZ summon.

 

He watched silently as Tetsuo lost, as expected. He teeth gnashed together when Shark grabbed Tetsuo’s deck proclaiming it his as the result of a bet, before grinning, Tetsuo truly was a useful moron, giving him an excuse to antagonize Shark. “Hey cheater! Sunk so low as to have to steal the decks of morons? As expected of scum like you!” 

 

He grinned harder as Sharks head snapped to him and he hissed out a pissed “Vector...” Storming over to him and trying to tower over Rei, who just gave an unimpressed look. His two moronic looking goons followed and also tried, a pitiful effort. “What does an orphan like you want?” 

 

Rei’s eyes wide and he heard Kotori gasp, and he glared and grabbed his necklace again, saying in a cold angry voice “I want to teach you a lesson, you’re always getting on my nerves, and Tetsuck just gave me an excuse, return the deck.”

 

Shark scoffed. “Why should I? It’s my legitimate prize! Go away and play with your trashed deck a bit.”

 

Rei could feel the anger in his veins as he yelled “Then I’ll just earn it back! It shouldn’t be too hard to beat a cheating has been! You’ll learn to respect my deck!” He ignored the goons who tried to talk to him, he had eyes only for Shark at the moment.

 

“You know what? Fine, a trash deck for a trash deck, but you’ll also have to wager what's most important to you to make up for even talking to me!”

 

Vector subconsciously touched his necklace, ready to lie that his deck was what’s most important to him, when his goons suddenly grabbed him and Shark yanked away the necklace. Vector’s blood ran cold as he stared at the necklace in Shark’s hands, scared cold for the first time since....

 

“This is what’s most important to you right? This horrible quality necklace? How about instead of a wager, I give you a fee!”

 

“NO, SHARK, GIVE IT BACK, SHARK I’LL KILL YOU I SWEAR, GIVE IT BACK, BREAK MY DUEL DISK INSTEAD!” Rei yelled out, feeling his heart pounding in his chest and his head getting fuzzy, he had to get back, he couldn’t take it, anything but that, he thrashed in the grip off the goons.

 

Shark only grinned and dropped it, slamming his foot down on the necklace, Rei could feel his heart shatter as the necklace did. The goons let go and Rei slumped to his knees, unable to stop himself when he said a quiet, heart broken.  _ “Mom...” _ He grabbed a piece of the necklace, staring at it in disbelief, feeling some tears appear in his eyes. All he could hear was static as he stared, he stared at Shark as he kicked away the other piece. He shakily stood up, and lunged with a roar, he felt people hold him back as he kicked and screamed, screamed as loud as he could. Shark, unimpressed, just humphed and walked off. 

“Sunday, the plaza, be there, Rei.”

 

The rest of the day was a blur, he barely remembered what happened, he remembered Kotori and Tetsuo walking him to Kotori’s house, the rest was fuzz. Next thing he knew, he was on a bed and asleep, dreaming of the gate, the words echoing in his head once again. Today, Rei gave no response.

 

When he woke the next day, he just stared at the piece of his necklace, refusing to get out of bed. Kotori’s mom had called him in sick for the day, anyways. He stared and stared, dissociating all the terrible events that resulted in him getting his mom’s most precious treasure, both his parents dead in a blink.

 

He just stared for hours, even ignoring the food Kotori’s mom had left out for him. Before he knew it, it was evening and the door opened and something was tossed next to him.He weakly looked over it, eyes widening as he saw it was the other part of the key, he grabbed it, holding it close to his heart. He heard Tetsuo speak, “I just happened to stumble on it, I figured you’d want it. Don’t duel Shark, It’s not worth it.”

 

Rei looked Tetsuo in the eye and spoke with a calm anger. “This was never about what you want, you were just the excuse. I’m not duelling for you, I’m duelling for reasons beyond your knowing. be there or not, I don’t care; I’m going to make Shark cry.”

 

Tetsuo’s eyes widened at that before he humphed. “Do what you want, I don’t care.” and turned to leave. Rei spoke before he left. “But, don’t worry about your deck Tetsuo, I will return it to you. Shark went too far that day.”

 

He saw Tetsuo look back at him in shock at him using his real name, and he gave a small smirk. “Well, alright Rei. Make him pay.” Rei shot him a smirk and Tetsuo left. Rei got out his deck and began to sort through it, sighing, a deck clearly made for Xyz summoning. He didn’t have any Xyz monsters. He narrowed his eyes and put it away, he would win. He grabbed some of the food from earlier, he would need his energy.

 

Rei woke up the next morning, he put on this now taped together key, having taped it last night. Kotori’s mom had been nice enough to let him use their tape and stay another night. He had called the orphanage the night before as well, having told him he was staying at a friends, they were ecstatic he was out of there hair, especially since he proved he was telling the truth. 

 

Quickly getting dressed, he looked over at Kotori who was eating cereal. She smiled at him and put the bowl away, quickly joining Rei. With a small nod between the two, they ran out the door, only to be stopped by Kotori’s mom, who was sweeping outside. “Rei!” Rei turned around to see what she wanted, and she tossed a package at Rei who caught it, confused. “Here! You can’t duel on an empty stomach!”

 

Blinking in surprise, Rei gave a rare genuine smile, and he and Kotori ran off. The plaza wasn’t far from Kotori’s house, but they chatted a little on the way. “Hey, I really hope you have a plan. Shark may be a rotten scumbag, but he’s got a great deck and the skills to back it up.” 

Rei smirked, “Of course I do, who do you take me for? Tetsuo?” Kotori couldn’t resist a little snicker.

 

“Hey, you’re using his real name! Grow tired of Tetsuck?”

 

“I just realized, Tetsuo doesn’t suck quite as much as I thought, besides-” he touches his taped necklace “-he did get me the other part of my necklace.”

 

After a bit more chatting they had arrived, Tetsuo was waiting nearby the Plaza, not brave enough to go in and face Shark before Rei had arrived. He quickly joined the other two. They confronted Shark, who smirked smugly. “I’ll give you some credit for actually showing up, always have to keep up the Vector mask, huh? Always gotta prove to everyone you aren’t the weakling people think you are. You could have saved your deck, but you had to challenge me, and actually come.” 

 

Rei snarled, “After you broke my necklace, I had to show up! You did the most unforgivable thing you can do, and I will make you pay for it! Let’s finish you off!” With that, he slipped on his duel disk and duel gazer, glaring at Shark, when the duel disks connected, both gave a cry of “Duel!” 

 

On the sidelines, Kotori cheered “You can do it, Rei!”

 

Rei grinned, “Care if I go first? Yes? Don’t care! Draw!” and with that, Rei drew. “I summon Umbral Horror Will o’ the Wisp! I then set two cards then end my turn!” Ignoring the confusion from Kotori and Tetsuo at summoning a zero attack monster in attack mode. 

 

He shot Shark a smirk and Shark snorted, “That’s it?! You might as well have summoned nothing! I summon Drill Barnacle! I’m not enough of an idiot to completely underestimate that thing! Drill Barnacles effect activates! It can attack directly!” The Drill Barnacle completely ignored his whisp and attacked Rei directly. Rei gave a grunt, losing three hundred life points. Shark grinned. “Drill Barnacle’s effect activates! It gains one thousand attack points! Now I set a card, keep up, orphan!”

 

Rei glared at Shark, then at the monster, ignoring his two companions cries of outrage, he drew a card and smirked. “I summon Shadow Delver! Attack Drill Barnacle!”

 

Shark grinned, and activated a trap “What a moron, walking into my trap like that! I activate my trap card Zeus’ Wave! Your attack is negated, and you take eight hundred points of damage!”

 

Rei flinched as he took the damage, ending his turn with a laugh. “This is fun! You truly are tricky Shark! You know I never lose though!”

 

Shark grinned, “You will this time-” he drew a card. “I summon Deep Sweeper! Kill his Whisp!” Rei covered his head as he took the one thousand six hundred damage. He looked a bit surprised as his Deep Sweeper was destroyed.

With a smirk Rei answered the unasked question with a small laugh “When Will o’ the Wisp is destroyed while it’s in attack mode, the attacking monster is also destroyed!”.

 

Shark humphed, “It’s not over yet! I activate Drill Barnacles effect again, I attack you directly and Drill Barnacle gains another one thousand attack points!”

 

Rei gave another grunt as he took the damage, he was already halfway out of life points, this wasn’t good, he couldn’t think right with his necklace broken, it was almost like a fog of depression had settled on his mind. He set a card and silently ended his turn. 

 

“You know, you really aren’t acting like yourself, not as cocky, did breaking your precious necklace break you as well? Then, maybe after I win, I’ll shatter it! See if that shatters you!” Shark yelled out, laughing as Rei’s face paled.

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THAT MEANS TO ME! I WILL CRAWL THROUGH HELL TO GET THAT BACK! I REFUSE TO EVER GIVE UP, I REFUSE TO EVER BE PARALYZED BY FEAR OR CHALLENGE EVER AGAIN!” Rei yelled at Shark, anger clear on his face. “I’LL SHOW YOU THAT I’LL NEVER LET FEAR STOP ME!” His necklace started to glow gold at the proclamation and Rei stared in confusion, his eyes widened as he realized somehow he had been teleported to the Door. He looked down, and his mouth fell open as he saw his key had miraculously been fixed. Had he finally snapped?

 

His head shot up to the door when he heard it speak once again. “Now, open the door.” His eyes narrowed as he stepped towards it. “Open the door, once you do you will receive a new power. Howev-” 

 

“Yeah, yeah! I know the drill! I refuse to let Shark beat me, I refuse to let Shark paralyze me, no more fear!” He jumped towards the door, somehow knowing what to do as he yanked his necklace off and stuck his necklace... No,  _ key _ in the door. 

 

The force of the door knocked him back, and he could only stare as the chains on the door cracked and the door opened. He tensed, as he could sense something was coming; The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by cards. Each twirled around him in a spherical shape too quickly to read, soon scattering. The next thing he knew, he was back to the duel.

 

“What the?!-” Rei looked down at his key, staring at the now repaired object, is this real life?! Was he insane?! Soon, what Shark had said came back to him, and he clenched his necklace tight. 

 

He looked back to Shark when he heard him gasp. “What in the.. What is this power?!” He almost seemed to glow with some kind of malevolent energy as he summoned a monster with a grin, Friller Rabca. “I overlay my level three Driller Barnacle and Friller Rabca to construct the Overlay Network! Come, Number Seventeen: Leviath Dragon!”

Rei could only ask in confusion, “Number?!” hearing similar confused questions from the bystanders.

 

“I attack Shadow Delver with Leviath Dragon!”  Rei covered his head as the massive attack hit, which knocked him to the ground, losing another five hundred life points.”I end my turn, it seems this match is decided, like you ever had a chance!”

 

Rei rubbed his back as he stared at the monster, how on earth was he going to defeat him...? Rei then heard a mysterious voice speak to him, “Stand.” 

Rei’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped as he saw the strange naked glowing… thing. 

“And win.”

 

Rei quietly asked to himself,  _ “What the fuck?? Is my D-gazer malfunctioning??” _ he got to his feet, staring at the thing. He wondered what on earth was happening, he was still on boring Earth,  _ right?? _


	2. Won't Be Paralyzed

Pointing at the glowing figure, Rei called out to to the two bystanders “You guys see this too?! Or is my Duel Gazer glitching out?! What are you?!”

 

The figure looked over at him with an almost disinterested way and calmly said “Astral, at least if I'm remembering right.” Causing Rei to look at Astral confusedly “Remember right??”

 

Kotori’s face popped up on a small screen to the side, “What's wrong? Do you see something?”

 

Tetsuo’s face soon followed “You're pointing at thin air man! There's nothing!”

 

With a groan Rei pointed more “Are you sure?? They're right here! Am I really glitching out??”

 

Tetsuo simply shrugged “We don't see anything, sorry Rei!”

 

Rei ignored the smattering of conversation from the two about how he might have cracked, wrinkling his nose and muttering under his breath “So only I can see this? Must be a glitch..” he hoped it was not a hallucination, “ _ Like I need more reasons for people to try and shove me in a nuthouse.“ _

 

His eyes flickered over as Astral simply spoke in that annoyingly calm voice “It seems you cannot comprehend my existence.”

 

Rei could feel his eye twitch, “Be quiet glitch, I'm trying to think”

 

Astral just looked at him confused and asked “What effect does a ‘glitch’ have? When can we activate it?”

 

This caused Rei to roll his eyes in annoyance, “What on earth are you talking about? A glitch isn't a stinking card!”

 

The glitch seemed to be thinking, not paying an attention to Rei before finally saying “It appears I somehow lost some of my memories. I guess when I came to this world, there was some kind of impact while crossing through the Gate, which scattered them...” 

 

Rei looked at the glitch, “ _ it's a glitch not a hallucination, it's a glitch it knowing about the Gate is a coincidence,” _ dumbfounded “A glitch with amnesia?? What is all this about the Gate and your memory??” He touched his key and took a calming breath and snickered a bit. “Of course my gazer glitches out in one of the most important duels I could have, thanks universe!”

 

“I am Astral, not Universe, please calm yourself.” Astral so helpfully supplied.

 

“Oh that's so helpful! This is your fault you know!” Rei snapped at the annoying glitch. Ignoring the arguing coming from Kotori and Tetsuo.

 

_ “Okay Rei, think logically, figure out what's going on, then make a scheme. What do I know? I know only I can see this glitch, Shark summoned an unknown card called a Number, the atmosphere changed, your key and deck is on the line..” _

 

Suddenly Shark began talking, causing Rei’s head to snap back towards Shark, “Number 17.... Leviath Dragon! When this XYZ monster appeared, my body was overwhelmed with an endless power-” Rei’s eyes widened as the strangest seventeen he'd ever seen started to glow in Shark’s hand, “-As I am now, it feels like there's no way I can lose to anyone! I’ll take away your deck you trash!”

 

“Numbers... there should be some of my more important memories sealed inside... my instinct is telling me I need to win this duel.” Astral calmly spoke.

 

Rei looked at the glitch in disbelief “Duel? You're a glitch that's duels??  _ Seriously?? _ ”

 

“I do not believe I am this ‘glitch’ thing but I indeed duel. I am... a duelist! It's... my turn!”

 

Rei gave the glitch an annoyed look, “I'll have you know it's my turn! Stay in your lane! My turn, draw!”

 

“I summon Umbral Horror Golem in attack position!” Astral said after peering at Rei’s cards.

 

Rei gave him a tiny glare, “This is my duel, stay out of it asshole-” he turned to Shark “First I activate Red Medicine to boost my life points by five hundred! Then I summon Skull Meister in attack mode and activate Blustering Winds! Now that my monster is stronger, I attack your lame Leviath Dragon with Skull Meister! It seems this ‘Number’ card isn’t that impressive after all!”

 

Rei watched with a cocky grin before his eyes widened a smidge, Shark may have taken the damage, but the monster remained. “Ha! It’s more impressive than any of your cards! A Number can only be defeated by a Number you moron!” 

 

Rei could feel a laugh bubble up and he let out a small chuckle before angrily yelling over to Shark “I don’t have any Number cards! How is this fair!”

 

Shark just grinned sadistically “Life isn’t fair orphan, if you surrender now I might let you keep the pieces of your necklace after I shatter it again!”

 

Rei could hear the bystanders gasp and discuss Number cards before he tuned them out again, “Well who cares if I don’t have one of your stinking Numbers!? I’ve got plenty of cards that could still let me wipe the floor with you, besides my monster still has higher attack points!” 

 

“There is low chance of us drawing these supposed cards, next turn Skull Meister will be destroyed, and in his next turn he will most likely blow through whatever defense we can put up, we can survive only a few turns if we are lucky. By the time you draw your combo it will most likely be too late.” Astral gravely said.

 

Rei’s eye twitched again, who did this punk think he was! “Shut up! I don’t need some backseat dueling glitch! I still have half my life points! I always find a way!” Rei snapped angrily at the glitch, starting to lose his patience.   
  
“Observation one, your dueling skills are not as good as mine.” Astral said plainly, and Rei swore he could see red

 

“You know what?! I don’t give a single shit about your ego! I’m duelling here, and you will leave me the FUCK alone!” ignoring the stunned silence from the others from his sudden swearing at nothing and Rei cussed under his breath, there’s no way they don’t think he’s insane now.

 

Astral just blinked in confusion, “You can not duel properly if you are angry, you must being angry.”

 

Rei touched his key again, taking deep breaths, they helped a little bit and he quietly hissed at Astral “I will quit being angry when you quit being a pest.”

 

Astral just looked at him in confusion “My skills are greater than yours. You should be listening to me.”

 

Rei just turned away with a humph, looking back to Shark who was talking again “With this, the path to my victory is solid! My turn! Draw!” Shark Tched a bit “I summon Big Jaws and activate Leviath Dragon’s ability! By removing an Overlay Unit, I can increase its attack by five hundred!!”

 

Rei gave a smug grin “That’s not enough though, I still beat you with two hundred more attack points!” 

 

Shark just flashed an evil grin “Did I say I was done? I activate Aqua Jet! Increasing Leviath Dragon by one thousand attack points till the end of my turn, boosting Leviath Dragon’s attack by Three thousand five hundred attack points! I then activate the spell card Deep Sea Attack! By discarding Hyper-Ancient Shark Megalodon, Leviath dragon can attack directly this turn as well!”

 

Rei gasped and took a step back, eyes wide. “It seems I underestimated our opponent, we should still survive the turn though..” Astral calmly said, looking at Leviath Dragon.

 

“No kidding....” Rei quietly said, also staring at the dragon.

 

“One guess to what I’m going to do! Leviath Dragon attack Vector directly!” Shark called out with a fierce expression.

 

With a screech Rei covered his head as the massive dragon attacked him, he could swear he could see his duel disk spark a bit, if he hadn’t played Red Medicine, he would have been toast!

 

“I attack with Big Jaws, destroy Skull Meister!” as the monster was destroyed Shark grinned “ I end my turn, Aqua Jet is destroyed, just like your chance of victory!” Shark cockily said as Rei grit his teeth as his monster was destroyed. 

 

“If you had summoned Umbral Horror Golem, its effect would have activated and we would still have a monster.” Astral plainly stated, a bit annoyed, before stared at his hands confused, “What’s this? My life is fading as well...” 

 

Rei gave Astral a confused look and mumbled “Fading?” 

 

Not seeming to notice what Rei had said, Astral closed his eyes for a few seconds before being seemingly struck with a realization, “Numbers-” His eyes focused on the glowing seventeen on the dragon. “-I remember now, Numbers are the pieces of my memory, they are special cards, even among the XYZ. There are no cards in this world that can match them! When two Numbers duel, the winner gains the losers Numbers.”

 

Rei laughed a bit “That's a whole lot of cryptic exposition that barely means anything you got there! Did I enter an anime or something? Care to be more specific my chum?”

 

Astral just calmly yet gravely said, “If we lose this duel, I will disappear from this world, I must win this duel at all costs.”

 

Rei just nodded a bit “So at least that's one positive if I lose, you go away, a decent reason to lose I suppose, luckily for you I’ll lose my key if I lose, so I must also win at all costs!” He flashed a bright fake smile “So that makes us partners! Cliché anime partners! Sounds fun!”

 

Astral blinked confusedly again and Rei looked at his cards _ “I don’t have much that could bring a reversal though...” _

 

“Don’t even bother thinking about it! It’s high time you forfeited this duel anyways you annoying pest!” Shark smugly taunted.

 

“Let me think about it... No!” Rei annoyedly snapped back at Shark.

 

“You still think you have a chance to win?” Shark asked in disbelief

 

“Well I still got this turn don’t !? I won’t give up so easily to a terrible cheater like you!” Rei yelled, determined. “Like seriously if you're gonna cheat be less terrible at it! Sheesh!” He ignored the disappointed stares from the two onlookers and the glitch, wondering why he suddenly felt a bit like he needed to make amends or something.

 

“I won’t give up huh? That statement pisses me off.” Shark grumbled at Rei’s words, clearly having not listened past that.

 

Rei just looked back at this cards poking out his tongue a bit in concentration,  _ “What to do, what to do...” _

 

“There is still a way we could win, you must get two monsters onto the field though, Listen carefully.... Orphan.” Astral said, still calm.

 

“Its  _ Rei _ not  _ Orphan,  _ remember that!” Rei snapped, getting pissed again, slightly wondering why he gave the glitch his real name.

 

“Then listen carefully... Reige.” Astral said, seeming completely serious.

 

Rei smirked “Jokes on you I kinda like that nickname! It’s Rei though.”

 

Astral just tapped there chin. “You need to draw something that can let you special summon, you must draw that card no matter what.”

 

“Oh be quiet, my turn! Draw!” Rei drew, praying he could draw it, he stared at the card he drew, smile growing.

 

Astral looked at the card and hummed “Umbral Horror Ghoul huh? It seems fate is still on my side.”

 

Rei rolled his eyes, again, “Give me some credit, I drew it after all! I summon Umbral Horror Ghoul in attack mode!”

 

“That weak monster? You might as well surrender!” Shark said dismissively.

 

“I will not be paralyzed by the fear this won't work and grovel like a coward! Not now not ever!” Rei snapped at Shark.

 

“Won’t be paralyzed be fear?” Astral echoed, wondering what Rei was going on about.

 

“I was paralyzed by fear once, never again, you are useless if you let yourself paralyzed by fear, your soul breaks when you let fear win!” Rei said determinedly, a very serious look on his face.

 

“Shut up for once! ‘I won’t be paralyzed by fear, I won’t give up...’ People like you piss me off to no end! How do you expect to win with only one thousand eight hundred attack points?!” 

 

Rei just smirked as he heard Astral say “You’ve done enough, had you set it, we would lose, no question.... Reima.”

 

With a groan Rei corrected him again, “It’s Rei! That's not hard to remember!”

 

Astral had no reaction to that and simply said “Use Umbral Horror Ghoul’s effect to summon Umbral Horror Unform.”

 

“I know I know, it won't help us but I know!” 

 

Astral stared at him with intense intensity, “I cannot allow myself to disappear... Please believe in me!” 

 

Rei’s eyes widened at hearing the sincerity, almost pleading, in the words and he laughed “You did say get two monsters out! I know what I’m doing, I just hope you do as well, don’t break my trust! I activate Umbral Horror Ghoul’s effect, by bringing its attack points to zero, I can special summon a zero attack Umbral Horror monster from my hand! I special summon Umbral Horror Unform!”

 

“What do you expect to do with two zero attack points monsters?! You position is even worse now!” Shark laughed.

 

Rei tched and Astral said in an almost happy voice “With this.. All the conditions have been met.” He looked over at Astral, wondering what he was planning. “Overlay your Level Four Umbral Horror Unform and Umbral Horror Ghoul.”

 

“I don’t have any XYZ monsters! What’re you talking about?!” Rei asked Astral, extremely confused.

 

“Check your extra deck.” Astral’s face didn’t change expression but Rei could tell he was pleased and did so, gasping at the XYZ monster that had magically appeared in it, taking it out, squinting at it.

 

“I can’t read it though...?

 

“I can read it. Number Thirty Nine Aspiring Emperor - Hope!” Astral said determined and Rei could feel his mouth drop in surprise.

 

“I have a Number?! Since when?!” Rei said, feeling another laugh bubble up.

 

“Since now, this is the power I am entrusting to you.”

 

Rei let out a happy laugh “I’m not sure why, but I trust you as well! You sure are an interesting thing!”

 

“I won’t be paralyzed!” Rei cried out “I overlay my Level Four, Umbral Horror Ghoul and Umbral Horror Unform! I build the Overlay Network with these two monsters! XYZ Summon! Come to me! Number Thirty Nine! Aspiring Emperor - Hope!!” Astral and Rei said in perfect unison, summoning the impressive Number. “I attack Big Jaws for seven hundred points of damage!”

 

Rei, blinking out of the sudden synchronicity, grinned and laughed as he felt the power flowing through him, seeing Shark’s stunned look and being flung to the ground when his monster was destroyed only made it better. “I end my turn!”

 

The area was deathly quiet as everyone stared at Rei in shock, unsure what just happened, Shark stood back up with a death glare “Whatever! I won't lose to someone like you Rei! My turn! Draw!” He drew a card and narrowed his eyes. “I activate Surface! Letting me summon Deep Sweeper in defense mode! I then tribute Deep Sweeper to advance summon Jawsman! This card gains three hundred attack points for every water monster I have on the field, Leviath Dragon is a water monster, thus the attack points are two thousand nine hundred! I then use my Leviath Dragon’s second Overlay Unit to boost its attack up to three thousand! Leviath Dragon attack Hope! Finish it!”

 

Rei’s eyes widened and he looked over to Astral while dodging the debris from Leviath Dragon “Knowing Hope’s effect would be very nice right now!” he frantically said, not wanting to lose.

 

“Hope’s effect... It can negate an attack by removing an Overlay Unit..”

 

“Well that would have been nice to know from the start! You are a terrible partner! I activate Hope’s effect, I remove an Overlay Unit, negating the attack! RUNE BARRIER!”

 

“So that’s Hope’s effect? Well even if you can negate my attacks, you still can't defeat my monsters!” Shark said, dismissing the effect.

 

“Oh please! I just need to get five hundred more attack points at least, that won’t be that hard!” Rei said with a snort, unimpressed with Shark.

 

“You only have one overlay unit left to use though! Only Numbers can defeat Numbers, but you’ll still take the damage! Feel free to remove your second Overlay Unit to stop Jawsman! Jawsman! Attack Hope!”

 

“Do what he says, remove an Overlay Unit!” Astral cried, not wanting to take the damage that would end the duel.

 

Rei tapped his chin before simply saying “And here I thought you were supposed to be smart Astral, we can survive this without Hope’s effect.”

 

“Why are you not activating Hope’s effect?!” Astral said, mild fear in his voice.

 

“Because playing it safe like that just isn’t me! It’ll be fine, I trusted you, now you trust me!” Rei said with a grin, “I activate a card I set awhile ago! Damage Pot! I take no damage from Jawsman’s attack until this card is destroyed, when it is destroyed we both take the damage!” Rei grinned, happy to have survived the turn.

 

“There is no future for you Vector! Just give it up!” Shark snapped at Rei

 

“The way you keep telling me to give up, Shark you really want me to lose what's precious to me so badly?! Have you really given up on what your precious thing is?! You think I forgot that day in the hospital?! You seriously gave up on it?!  Rei snapped, noting that Shark looked like he had been socked in the gut. “Have you abandoned it?!” He smirked and wagged his finger at Shark “Bad Shark! Don't be such a weakling! If you're a weakling I'll make shark fin soup out of you!”

 

Shark’s eyes narrowed, Rei could almost see the pure hate in them so he continued “I wouldn’t have given up on it! I never gave up in that horrible day in the hospital I had the misfortune of meeting you! You truly have sunk low! I wouldn’t have been paralyzed, but you seem to have been!”

 

“You said to trust you, does this mean you have a plan?” Astral asked, curious.

 

“Indeed, I have two cards in my deck that I need to secure my win! It’s a risky combo but that’s how I like it!”

 

Astral narrowed there eyes “Two cards? Do you truly believe you can get that lucky?”

 

Rei grinned “Well... I might need some extra fuel!” With that he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lunch Kotori’s mom made, sitting down to eat.

 

“Rei?! Is that the food my mom gave you!? Why are you eating it now?!” He could hear Kotori call over to him

 

Happily and quickly scarfing it down, thoroughly enjoying Kotori’s mom’s cooking, Rei replied “Your mom is a great cook! I just need a little energy from my Duel Meal!” Quickly finishing it, he jumped back up, doing a sweet flip as he jumped back to his spot. “Now that I’m recharged I can win! My Turn! Draw!”

 

Rei took a deep breath as he drew the card, eyes going wide as he saw the card, _ “Pot of Greed, what a cliché..”  _ “I activate Pot of Greed which lets me draw two cards!”

 

“Pot of Greed?!” Astral gasped in surprise.

 

Rei quickly drew the two cards and grinned “Perfect! Hope, Attack Jawsman!”

 

“Rei, we do not have enough attack points! What are you doing Rei?!” 

 

“Winning the duel Astral! I activate Hope’s effect, by removing my other Overlay Unit I  negate my attack! I then activate Double or Nothing! Letting me attack again with doubled attack points!”

Hope slashed through Jawman as Rei grinned, “I set a card and end my turn.”

 

Astral seemed distressed, “Leviath Dragon still has more attack points though! Rei this is foolish!”

 

“Just trust me!” Rei responded, staring at Shark

 

“Hmph, a futile move from trash.” Shark said dismissively “My Turn! Draw!” Shark drew his card, “I summon Spear Shark in attack mode! Leviath Dragon! Destroy Vector’s Hope!”

 

Rei laughed happily, “You absolute idiot, I activate my Quick Play spell! Ego Boost! Hope gains a one thousand attack boost! Your Leviath Dragon is-” he snickered “-washed up!”

 

Shark’s eyes widened, “What?! No! You can’t!” Throwing his hands over his head as Hope destroyed his monster, the seventeen disappeared from his hand, and Shark blinked a bit in confusion before narrowing his eyes again. “Fine, I end my turn!”

 

Rei gave a giant grin and laughed more “My Turn!~ I draw! I summon Sangan in attack mode! Hope! Kill his Spear Shark with intense prejudice!” Shark covered his head as Hope killed his Spear Shark, grunting a bit. “Sangan! Go in for the kill!”

 

Sangan lunged forward and slashed at Shark, pushing him back and onto his back with a scream. as his life points hit zero. It was silent again as everyone digested what just happened, Rei grinned and started jumping up and down, fist pumping “I won! I won! Take that Shark!” Soon Tetsuo and Kotori surged forward running towards Rei for congratulation, “I won! I won! Shark just got obliterated!”

 

“You did it Rei! You won back Tetsuo’s deck!” Kotori said as she shared a fistbump with Rei, “You’re the best!” 

 

Rei just smiled and grabbed his key, wondering,  _ “Mom... are you proud of me?”  _ He shook out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps approaching and looked over, seeing Shark approach, Shark held out a deck. “As agreed.”

 

Rei took it with a grin, “Oh good! I was worried I’d have to punch you in the face to make you fulfil your promise.”

 

“I’m not you, I keep my promises, I will remember this, Rei Shingetsu.” Shark plainly said before starting to walk away.

 

Rei snickered a bit, “What a dramatic loser!” before his eyes almost seemed to soften a bit and he sighed “Shark, don’t give up on it, fear eats you alive, don’t be scared, it’ll be fine, this was a fun duel, beat up that fear and go back to your normal proud annoying easy to hate self.” 

 

He frowned as Shark just kept walking,not even throwing back a retort, before he shrugged “Well I tried! If he does something stupid it's not on me! Who wants to get food? Tetsuo’s paying and I got a shortcut!” 

 

“What?! You just ate! I’m not paying, and I'm not taking one of your insane shortcuts!” Tetsuo protested, causing Rei to laugh and Kotori to argue for why Tetsuo should pay, before Rei’s eyes darted over to Astral, and he removed his duel gazer, sighing a bit as Astral did not disappear as hoped  _ “...are they really a hallucination? He seemed so real.”” _

 

“You bet so much on the draw of a card, huh....” Astral mumbled to himself.

 

Rei’s eyes darted over to Astral, “Eh? You confused by me or something? Well did you at least enjoy my duel?” he mumbled under his breath, glad the other two didn’t seem to hear over there bickering.

 

“Generally speaking you are a duelist outside my comprehension, Reige” Astral simply replied with a hint of mischief.

 

“I still like that nickname, so suck it.” Rei mumbled under his breath.

 

Kotori blinked and seemed to remember something, “Oh right? Rei, when you were talking about Shark giving in to fear, what were you talking about?” she asked, curious.

 

“Kotori I am a jerk about many things, but even I have a limit of my jerkiness, what that was about is Shark’s to know and you to find out later.” Rei responded, seeming surprisingly serious.

 

She blinked, “Oh, well I don’t think you're a jerk! You just pretend you are!” She protested, an honest look in her eyes.

 

Rei gave a small smile and shrugged again, “In the end, I still have acted like a jerk either way and will continue to do so, I’d say I'm a jerk..”

 

Tetsuo suddenly wrapped an arm around Rei's neck and put him in a sudden headlock, “Yeah you're a bit of a jerk! You’re our jerk though, which means you aren’t getting rid of us!”

 

Rei stiffened before frantically struggling and weakly clawing at Tetsuo’s arm who quickly let go, not expecting such a violent response. Rei rubbed his neck and gasped a bit, “First rule of being my acquaintance, no violent grabbing, at all.”

 

Kotori’s eyes widened, most likely remembering the scene he made in class and nodded seriously, and immediately turned around and started scolding Tetsuo, who tried to defend that he didn’t know he would react like that! Rei couldn’t stop a small smile at Kotori hurrying to his defense.

 


	3. Actual Japanese Orphanages Are Really Bad Look It Up

After the duel, the group has all went to get food at a local cafe, Kotori had managed to actually talk Tetsuo into paying, and talk Rei  _ out  _ of doing his shortcut. Rei felt happier than he had in awhile, though Astral’s constant questions that Rei tried to ignore was starting to grate on his nerves.

 

‘Why are you not communicating with me Rei? You were fine at it during the duel, maybe a bit nonsensical at times, but adequate. Answer me Rei.” Astral asked, floating over Rei’s food, not noticing Rei’s slight eye twitch, “Have I committed some sort of error? I do not believe I have, but I can think of no other reason for this treatment.”

 

Rei did his best to ignore it and sweetly smiled at Kotori, sweet talking a bit “Your mom is lovely, I hope I haven’t been a burden! My caretakers always goes off about how I'm a nuisance and a menace.”

 

Kotori waved her hand a bit “It’s fine Rei! Mom seems to enjoy your company,  you should stay over more! You don’t need to make such a big fuss about this, honest!”

 

Tetsuo took another bite of his food and bluntly asked “So do you like live at the orphanage or something?” Kotori smacked his arm and gave him a glare “What?! You were think it as well Kotori!”

 

“What is an orphanage?” Astral asked confused, “Is it bad like people say?”

 

Changing his sweet smile to a sad smile, he shook his head “Don’t hit him, it’s a fair question, if taboo, I do, the staff are negligent, always trying to get rid of kids, it’s almost like a war zone as the other kids fight for control. They often try to get rid of me, I am a troublemaker, I can make the kids leave me alone but it can be difficult. Honestly staying with you Kotori has given me some of the most restful sleeps I’ve had in forever, I’m just lucky I’m not a Throw Away Child!” 

 

The two of them gasped at him and Kotori humphed angrily “How mean! Trying to get rid of you! I’d go over there to give them a piece of my mind if I thought it would help!” her eyes softened and she gave him a caring smile “Stay at my place anytime you need, you’re welcome there.”

Tetsuo nodded “Yeah, and if you ever need food or somethin’ feel free to ask. I’ll feel guilty if only Kotori helped you out!”

 

Rei gave a gasp “You mean it?! Thank you so much, I know we haven’t been friends for long but this means the world to me! Thank you so much again!”  _ “They’re buying it so easily, I expected it to be harder to spend more time at Kotori’s house, anything to get out of that dump! Perhaps I shouldn’t be taking advantage of them, they are my friend acquaintances things, but I need every edge I can get to survive.” _

 

Kotori smiled “You’re our friend, we don’t want you unhappy.” Tetsuo nodded and agreed “Yeah! Only I’m allowed to make you unhappy now!” Prompting another smack from Kotori.

 

With a happy laugh Rei squashed the guilt starting to build,  _ “I can’t feel guilty about this, it’s survival.”  _ Rei then sighed “It’s a shame I can’t stay every night, I’m not even sure if I can stay tonight, I’ll have to check.” 

 

After some more light chatting and Rei ignoring Astral, they parted and Rei started on the long way to the orphanage, he looked around and saw he was alone. “Alright pest, I can talk to you now, no one else is around, throw your questions at me!”

 

“I do not throw questions, I say them. Why could you not talk with me before?” Astral asked floating in front of him

 

Rei just calmly kept walking “Simple, I'm the only one who can see, if I talked to nothing people would think I'm insane. It took a lot to convince Kotori and Tetsuo you were probably a hacker. I don't want to ruin that.”

 

Vector simply floated there and responds “Relatively speaking, you are mentally sane. I don't see why talking with me would make you seem insane.” Making Rei roll his eyes

 

“It just will, don't question it anymore, anything else you want to ask me?

 

“What's an orphanage? The other two made it seem like it was bad to ask if you live in one?” 

 

Rei paused, giving a sigh before saying in a bit of an angry tone, “An orphanage is where the kids with no homes and no parents go, you stay there until you're eighteen, then kicked onto the street. It's a death trap, a never ending spiral of failure unless you get lucky, I'm mainly glad I'm not a throw away child!”

 

“I can not fail, which means you cannot fail, do not go to this orphanage place again.” 

 

With a snort Rei started laughing again “Why do you think I sweet talked Kotori? She's a nice gal, but way too gullible! With her help I'll be able to avoid it for the first part, tonight should be the last day of it for a while .”

 

“Excellent, failure is not an option.”

 

“I mean it technically is, just not the option we want.”

 

“Quiet.”

 

He began cracking again as he walked, “So Astral, you got basically none of your memories right? None!”

 

Astral seemed a bit uncertain but replied “That is correct, I only know I am Astral and I must collect the ninety nine number cards.”

 

With a nod Rei rubbed his chin and said with a smirk “So no clue if you're a dude or a girl then, none?”

 

Astral blinked “That is correct I suppose, I fail to see how it's important though.”

 

“It's not, hope you like being called they though!” Rei laughed

 

“It's acceptable.” Was the neutral reply from Astral, the rest of the walk was in silence and soon Rei had arrived at the orphanage.

 

As usual the gate was wide open and Rei silently headed in, boredly watching Astral explore the dirty courtyard, “I should really see if I could repair some of the toys, if the younger kids had more toys they might do less stupid stunts...” Rei mumbled to himself as he headed inside the cramped building, he quickly headed straight to the room he shared with a few younger kids, keeping his head down, silent as to not make the older kids pay him any mind.

 

As soon as he sat down on his bed, he looked at the dirty walls and stained floors and sighed, he hated this place so much. He laid down and stared at the ceiling, planning.  _ “Maybe I could steal a trash bot and have it clean up this place... Nah I couldn’t get away with that.” _

 

He soon heard the door open and slam shut, causing him to jump and look at the door with rapt attention, he saw some random young kid press there body to the door, breathing heavily, a Duel Gazer clutched in there hands.

 

“Rei this child is acting highly suspicious, is this normal here?” Astral asked from where he was floating, Rei gave Astral a slight nod.

 

“Hey kid, this isn’t your room, you should scram!” Rei snapped at the kid, not wanting to get in trouble because this kid decided to hide in his room.

 

The kids eyes darted over to him and stuttered “P-please! Help me! They’re gonna take my gazer! I-I can’ lose it!” Clutching it tighter and Rei could faintly heard yelling,

 

Rei touched his necklace, and asked “Okay calm down, Who’s gonna take your Gazer?” Getting off the bed and crouching by the young child, they looked about nine.

 

“E-Eri! She went nuts! She found this weird card and she just changed! She’s never been this evil before! Please! She says she's going to smash it!” The kid pleaded, practically in tears.

 

Astral seemed to be paying more attention at the mention of a strange card, “A Number!? Rei we must help this child.”

 

He shot Astral a quick sharp glare and mumbled “Of course I’m gonna help, there's a hierarchy and she’s breaking it!” he turned back to the child and gave a smile “Alright, you’re lucky you found me, most of the older kids would have pulverized you for even going in there rooms. Hide in here, I’ll take care of Eri.”

 

The child gave a small surprised gasp and nodded, scooting under Rei’s bed. He looked over the kids hiding spot and grabbed his threadbare blankets, moving them so they covered the bottom of the bed. With a nod, he opened the door, heading out to find Eri.

 

It was surprisingly easy to find her, she was yelling pretty loud, what was really surprising was the path of destruction. Eri wasn’t very high up on the hierarchy, mostly ignored as she could beat the shit out of you but didn’t care to rise up her rank,  _ “Though...”  _ he thought, looking over the broken Gazers and unconscious children, he could even recognize some high rankers in the casualities.  _ “That seems to have changed now.”  _

 

He ran faster as he got closer to the yelling, slamming open the door to see Eri slam her foot down on a kid’s Gazer, shattering it. “That’’s what you get for cutting my hair while I slept Kase!” She spat at the crying kid crumpled at her feet, her green eyes looked dead. 

 

“Rei, she appears to be incredibly hostile, but we must gain her Number, proceed with caution.” Astral so wisely advised, making Rei roll his eyes.

 

Rei took a defensive stance and glared at her “Eri! You’re going to far!” he yelled at the girl, pointing at her. “Stop this madness, whatever point you want to make you’ve made!”

 

Eri growled and glared right back “Vector, here to be the hero eh’? Here to stop me from taking my rightful place as top dog in this godforsaken place??? Well mister hero, I have beef with you as well! Prepare for a beating, either in a duel or in person, your choice!”

 

With another roll of his eyes Rei put on his own Gazer and slipped on his duel disk, “Lets duel then, I’ll knock you to your senses! You’ve done enough! Duel!”

 

“The royal goes first! My turn! Draw!” With a smirk Eri drew a card, grinning wildly “I set a monster and card! I then activate Spell Absorption! With that I end my turn, I think when i'm done with you, I’ll break your nose as an extra warning to to other wannabe heroes!”

 

Astral hummed “How violent, do not fear Rei, I will not let us lose, I must obtain her Number.”

 

“No concern about the fact she threatened to break my nose? That’s cold, lets just get this over with, she’s giving me a headache.” a small chuckle bubbling out of his throat. “My turn! Draw! I summon Tainted Wisdom! Attack the facedown!”

 

Eri just grinned wider as her Giant Germ was shown and destroyed by the brain, Rei grinned and was about to start taunting when Eri happily said “I activate Giant Germ’s effect! You take five hundred points of damage and I can special summon two Giant Germs to field! Thanks doll!”

 

“You fell into her trap! She’s going to XYZ next turn.” Astral said, unimpressed.

 

“Oh like you noticed! If you thought it was fishy you would have said something.” Rei pointed out, not wanting to take all the blame, he sighed, “I set one care and end my turn.”

 

Eri happily clapped her hands “Oh my turn is at hand! Let the crushing of your will begin! My turn! Draw! I summon Bite Shoes in attack mode! Now that I have three level two dark monsters on my field, the fun really begins! I build the Overlay Network and overlay my two Giant Germs and Bite Shoes! Number Forty Three! Manipulator of Souls in defense mode!”

 

Rei narrowed his eyes as the Number appeared on the field and Eri clapped happily, giggling as a strange forty three appeared on her forehead, visible through her black bangs. 

 

“Why would a monster with no attack require three Overlay Units? How strange, it must have a powerful effect, be on guard Rei.”  Astral observed.

 

“Of course I’m on guard, I run zero attack monsters as well you know!” Rei grumbled at Astral before turning his attention back to the duel.

 

“I activate Soul of the Pure! I gain eight hundred life points and Manipulator of Souls effect activates! Since I regained life points it gains that life points as attack points and you take it as damage!” Eri gleefully said, grinning wildly.

 

Rei’s eyes widened as he took the damage, gasping as he loses another 800 life points, keeping himself steady. “A burn deck, we must finish this duel quickly or the burn damage will build up, we must get a Number out before it can gain more attack points.” Astral pointed out helpfully.

 

“Don’t think that’s all the damage you're taking! Spell Absorptions effect activates meaning I gain five hundred life points! Which means Manipulator of Souls gains even more attack points and you take even more damage! Now Manipulator of Souls! Attack his Tainted Wisdom! With that I set two cards and end my turn.”

 

Rei covered his face as he took the small amount of damage and let out a small laugh as he sized up the field. “Well this seems interesting! I’ve never dueled a burn deck before! Oh you’re a tricky one aren’t you! My Turn! Draw!” 

 

Staring at his hand, Rei thought for a bit, before grinning “I summon Dark Jeroid in attack mode! It’s effect activates! I lower your Manipulator of Souls’ attack points by eight hundred! Attack her Number Dark Jeroid!”

 

Eri just smiled a bit. “I activate Solemn Wishes. Now whenever I draw a cards I gain five hundred life points, next I activate Dark Scheme. Now you can either discard a card, or we both discard two cards and draw two more, it’s you’re choice hero, pray you make the right choice.” 

 

“If you do not discard a card her Manipulator of Souls will only have one thousand attack points, we would still inflict damage, refreshing our hand could be the edge we need.” Astral calmly pointed out but before he could go on to say which cards they should discard, Rei interjected.

 

“Easy choice! I discard one card to stop your trap card!” 

 

“Rei, while it is true we would take five hundred points of damage it would be worth it to refresh your hand, why are you discarding???” Astral asked, seeming confused as Rei just smirked and discarded a card, letting the attack go through.

 

Eri’s grin fell a bit as she took the seven hundred points of damage. “Hmmph you think you're clever hero? That's fine, I'll crush you and then I'll have full control of this fucked up place! No one else would dare stand in my way!”

 

Rei snorted “Eri, hun, hate to break it to you, but you're a moron, and we eat morons alive here, I end my turn.”

 

Eri glared and snapped out “My Turn! Draw! Solemn Wishes effect activates and I gain five hundred life points, while my Manipulator Of Souls gains five hundred attack points and does five hundred damage to you!” 

 

Pouting a bit when Rei didn’t react she grinned “Now I activate Poison Of The Old Man, I gain another one thousand two hundred life points and Manipulator Of Souls gains one thousand two hundred attack points, which means you takes that as damage Spell Absorption activates again as well, so I gain five hundred more and you lose five hundred more!!”

 

Rei did flinch that time, gritting his teeth as he took the damage, that's not good, Eri had always been an okay duelist, but with this card she was very powerful. Eri cried out “Manipulator Of Souls destroy Dark Jeroid!” smiling sweetly when Vector covered his head when he took the damage. “This will teach you for messing with me, I set a card and end my turn.”

 

Rei growled and took a deep breath as he heard Astral speak “We must get out Utopia out this turn. We have no choice.” Rei glared at the glowing being and quietly hissed “Shut up. I know what I’m doing.” 

 

Turning to Eri he barked out “My Turn! Draw!” Smirking at the card he drew “I summon Umbral Horror Golem, then I activate Monster Slots! By Banishing The Infernity Knight I discarded to stop your earlier effect I can draw a card, and if its the same level as my Golem then I can summon it!” With a deep breath and a prayer he drew and let out a slight sigh of relief at what he drew. “I drew Sangan! Which is level three like my Golem! I special summon it to the field! Then I exceed summon Leviathan Dragon!”

 

Staring at the dragon with slight fear in her eyes, Eri shook the fear away and just glared “So you gotta big dragon? Cliché much? Hit me with your best shot! I still have more attack points”

 

Waggling his finger Rei grinned wildly “I activate my wonderful dragon’s effect! By detaching a unit, it gains five hundred attack points which I do! Interesting fact about Sangan actually, units are technically still on the field, which means when I detach Sangan there effect activates! Letting me add Possessed Dark Souls to my hand! Then to cover the rest I activate my set card! Blustering Winds! ” 

 

“No!”

 

“Oh yes! Leviathan Dragon! Attack Manipulator of Souls!”

 

With a small screech as her Number was destroyed, Eri clutched her forehead where the number had put it’s mark. Rei was mildly concerned she had just gained brain damage but after breathing heavily a bit Eri released her forehead and pure venom was glared at Rei, Rei was no longer concerned and grinned. “I end my turn”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey did you know I didn't notice Eri was just Rei with letters swapped around until half way through? Weird huh.


End file.
